Great Chain Shops Still Exist

[The Critic]

This morning, I took my friend's 2006 Corolla to Firestone for an advertised $21.99 oil change and tire rotation special. I made the appointment at 8am and was out of there by 9am. The actual service took about 30 minutes.

They did not upsell any unneeded services. The tech even told me that I could delay the tire replacement for another 5k. The assistant manager was also willing to perform a transmission flush for $70 if I brought the fluid. Great people.

When the assistant manager rang me up, he forgot to discount the tire rotation, so I was charged $42 instead of $22. Since he was unable to reverse the transaction, he gave me a voucher for a free oil change at my next visit. In addition, he would also match the Firestone website's prices for tires, which are actually better than Tire Rack's.

Overall, great experience at the local Firestone. I'll defintitely return there for future services. As always, YMMV.

 

[javacontour]

How is that a great deal? He "forgot" to discount it, so instead of refunding your money, he gives you a coupon to lose before you come back.

Glad you got good service. However, I think I would have asked for a $20 (or $21 with tax, LOL) instead of a coupon/voucher for the next service free.

If you are happy, then I guess that is all that matters.

 

[rjundi]

That is good to hear I have heard positive comments about that chain except my local one.

My experience was terrible at the Firestone shop I went to. I had 4 Bridgestone RE960's purchased/installed and they suggested over $700 in additional work mostly redundant to the 30k service I had performed 2k miles earlier at a Subaru dealer for $300.

I was quite irritated as they took over 1.5hrs to install my tires and come up with computer estimate with the mechanic who obviously was commissioned.

The tires were cheap though there.

Still I would pay an additional $50-$100 to never set foot into any chain and use an independent next time.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
How is that a great deal? He "forgot" to discount it, so instead of refunding your money, he gives you a coupon to lose before you come back.

Glad you got good service. However, I think I would have asked for a $20 (or $21 with tax, LOL) instead of a coupon/voucher for the next service free.

If you are happy, then I guess that is all that matters.

Well, I had been planning to return there for an oil change next time. They normally charge $30 for an oil change, and with this deal, the oil change is only $20. That beats the coupon.

 

[jsharp]

This is why I like paying with a credit card. When people tell me they've "made an error but are unable to reverse the transaction" I tell them them "Fine, I'll just have the CC company do a chargeback on the card."

It's amazing how fast they can figure out how to void the transaction and price it properly...

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Overall, great experience at the local Firestone. I'll defintitely return there for future services. As always, YMMV.


They've got a lot more at stake than a Mom & Pop for the most part, so it's in their best interest to play nice. It's been awhile since I've used one, but I've had good Chain shop experiences too.

Joel

 

[M1Accord]

I wonder the quality of oil/filter change and tire rotation when it is so low. The tire rotation is labor intensive but there is almost no proof if the work is done. I get my tires from BJ so I get the free lifetime rotation, repair, balance, and road side hazard warranty. The price is also cheaper than Tire Rack if one takes mounting into consideration. Around here, mounting is $10 per tire and I think that is fair as that involves removing the old tires and a lot of work.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: M1Accord
I wonder the quality of oil/filter change and tire rotation when it is so low. The tire rotation is labor intensive but there is almost no proof if the work is done. I get my tires from BJ so I get the free lifetime rotation, repair, balance, and road side hazard warranty. The price is also cheaper than Tire Rack if one takes mounting into consideration. Around here, mounting is $10 per tire and I think that is fair as that involves removing the old tires and a lot of work.

Their normal price is $29.99 for the oil change and $20 labor for a tire rotation. The oil used was bulk Kendall GT-1 Synthetic Blend 5W30 and a Firestone (Purolator) oil filter was used. I was able to watch them perform the work as the car was in the first bay near the huge waiting room window.

 

[AcuraTech]

I used to work at a Firestone shop about 10 years ago. We worked on a lot of real junkers, so estimates were often high.

We also worked on plenty of decent cars which went out the door with no additional work needed. The place was always busy, we never really needed to up-sell unnecessary work.

The lesson here is don't take your car to an empty shop! Busy mechanics will give your car a quick glance and only try to up-sell what's absolutely needed. Mechanics that are standing around will have plenty of time to inspect and nitpick your car.

As always, if you don't think the work is necessary, DON'T BUY IT!

If you don't like taking your car to the shop, buy some tools and fix it yourself! I don't like going to the dentist, but it's a necessary evil. I never hear anyone talk about getting ripped off at the dentist for unnecessary fillings, but I know that it happens all the time! Ask me how I know.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Chain shops can be fine. When I had to replace a tire that had developed an "egg" last year, the Goodyear place about four miles from me were quick and accurate, didn't try upselling, and credited me for the old tire. I was in and out, on a Saturday morning, in about an hour.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

Those places use the absolutely cheapest oil filters they can find. I talked with an former manager of one of those joints. CHEAP is the word.

Good thing the customer service was good though!

 

[addyguy]

They may use cheap filters, but they are using a decent oil with the Kendall GT-1 syn-blend. Wish a major chain shop up here used it, Castrol and Pennzoil (Shell) have THAT market locked up...